GALLERY: Simek hands over new Arctic class PSV to GulfMark

GulfMark Offshore, a provider of offshore support vessels, has taken delivery of an Arctic class PSV, named the North Barents, from Simek AS shipyard in Norway.

GulfMark said on Monday that the platform supply vessel was delivered to its Norwegian subsidiary, GulfMark Norge.

The company added that the North Barents was built by Simek in Flekkefjord for NOK 360 million ($43.05 million) and delivered on January 18, 2017.

After being delivered to its owners, a traditional naming ceremony took place at Simek where Anne Kristin Førland, wife of Trond Førland, CEO of Gulfmark Norway, named the vessel.

Simek said that the shipyard and Gulf signed a contract for this vessel back in 2014 with a delivery date set for April 2016. Due to the recent turmoil in the market, it was decided to set back delivery until January 2017.

North Barents, an ST-216 Arctic design by Skipsteknisk is the third of this type to be built for GulfMark after the North Cruys and North Pomor.

The North Barents is designed for operations in northern Arctic waters. It is designed with Clean Design and SCR exhaust catalysts, low resistance hull lines optimized for speed and low fuel oil consumption, and high station keeping capability.

The vessel is also outfitted for standby rescue and oil recovery operations.

Quintin Kneen, President and CEO of GulfMark Offshore, said: “The North Barents represents GulfMark’s commitment to operating a technologically advanced fleet of vessels. She is ideally suited for harsh environment operations and further strengthens our market position in the North Sea.”